Tired of incessant helicopter overflights and faced with an increase in daily rotations, the town of Ramatuelle (Var) on the Côte d'Azur is suing the state, she announced on Saturday.
"The summary liberty that we filed in the night from Friday to Saturday, it is an emergency measure because the prefectural decree of June 25 provides for an increase in the number of rotations compared to previous years", argues Antoine Perez, lawyer in the office of the mayor of Ramatuelle.
The decree provides for 50 daily movements against 40 for the previous seasons, "without counting the unofficial movements, not declared, very numerous", specifies Mr. Perez.
In its summary, which AFP was able to consult, the municipality noted violations of the right to information and participation in environmental matters, the right to live in a balanced environment and respectful of health, and the right the free administration of local authorities.
Prized by a wealthy clientele, the helicopters and their incessant buzz have already been the target of legal actions from exasperated residents, but never from a municipality.
90 passages in one day over a house
An inhabitant of a housing estate located behind the beach of Pampelonne noted by minutes 90 helicopter passages in one day over his house, according to Mr. Perez.
"The prefectural decree of June 25, 2021 goes against the municipal policy which has safeguarded Ramatuelle a coastal territory whose rural character has become exceptional on the Côte d'Azur", deplores the town in a press release.
In addition to these air movements, the town notes that it concentrates "the greatest number of commercial helipads (...) mostly located on the part of the territory most protected by the Coastal Law, in the vicinity of the Pampelonne beach".
Completely bottled in summer, the Gulf of Saint-Tropez has seen “heliports” flourish in recent years.
The helicopter puts Saint-Tropez a quarter of an hour from Nice or Cannes.
The recent condemnation of France by the Council of State against the municipality of Grande-Synthe (North) which considers itself threatened by the rise in sea level and accuses the country of not doing enough to meet its commitments in climatic matter, "gives a favorable context", according to Mr. Perez.
"The state is authorizing one airport per municipality in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, while there is a climate emergency," he denounced.
